Shared Secrets
by moms2398
Summary: A new photographer arrives at Smallville Senior High School with a secret. One small Het moment, but mostly Gen.
1. Meet Stasi

_A/N: Set in early Season 4: Senior Year at Smallville Senior High School. Lana is with Jason; Chloe doesn't know THE SECRET; Pete has moved to Witchita. Lois has moved out of the Kent house – for the first time._

All of Stasi's windows were open and the radio in the dash of her lifted Chevrolet Silverado was turned way up, playing fast-paced country music as she tore down the Kansas two-lane on her way to her new home. Her long, red, hair flew around her head like a fiery halo, occasionally whipping into her face only to be banished by a quick wave of her hand. She happily sang along, drumming on the steering wheel, enjoying the scenery: cornfields as far as the eye could see with the occasional red barn and light- colored farmhouse interrupting the vast green and gold.

She noticed a ripple in the field to her left and narrowed her eyes to follow it as their trajectories approached each other. Suddenly, there was a man in the road in front of her, eyes reflecting the color of the sky looking back at her, and she breathed an expletive as she slammed her foot on the brake, skidding. She felt the back wheels begin to slide to the left and turned the wheel to compensate, evening out the vehicle as it came to a stop.

She took a shaky breath, then, with her heart pounding in her ears and pushed the driver's door open with a visibly trembling hand, jumping out to address the person she'd almost hit. When she rounded the bed of the truck on spaghetti legs, she was alone on the road. Holding her breath in dread, she ran to one side of the road and to the other to see if she'd winged the guy on the road and if he was laying in the roadside drainage ditches, but there was no one to be found. She climbed up into the truck bed and shielded her already sunglass-shielded eyes from the sun to survey the surrounding countryside and still saw no one.

"Sonofa…" she muttered in exasperation. "I _know_ I wasn't imagining…"

She jumped down and returned to the cab. After sitting for the span of a half a song to calm her nerves, she turned the wheel to put the vehicle back into the correct lane and continued down the road at a much slower rate.

~Smallville~

Martha Kent felt a sudden breeze blow through the kitchen and grabbed a receipt that threatened to fly away. She waited a moment and her son bounded down the stairs, moving toward her.

"Hi, Mom," he smiled, kissing her temple as he walked to the refrigerator and get the bottle of milk out.

"Hi, Clar-Hey!" she admonished as the bottle travelled to his lips. "Clark!"

He gave her the same beautiful smile he always did when she stopped him from drinking out of the bottle and reached for a glass, protesting nonetheless that it tasted better without.

She rolled her eyes and finished entering the last receipt into her ledger.

After drinking from his glass, he asked. "Dad home yet?"

Martha smiled. "No."

Clark wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his blue eyes dancing. "Great!" He set the glass down on the counter and, in a flash, he was out the door.

Martha knew what her son was up to. Tomorrow was his father's birthday and each year since Clark became a teenager, he'd pick a day to do as many of Jonathan's chores before he could get up in the morning or home in the afternoon. This year, Clark had finished all his father's chores this morning and was gone to school before Jonathan could get up and admonish his son, good-naturedly. This was the first time Clark was trying to do both morning and afternoon.

Martha knew why this was important to Clark. It was very difficult for a farmer to get a day off and his father worked so hard. Clark's special abilities put him in a unique position to be able to do his own chores as well as his father's.

By the time Jonathan walked in the door from his errands to the hardware store and bank, Clark was pouring himself another glass of milk, sitting at the kitchen table. One look at his smiling wife and son and Jonathan Kent knew what had happened. "Now, Clark, I appreciate what you're doing, but-"

Clark just grinned. "Now you and Mom can go out on a picnic by Crater Lake."

Jonathan frowned, then looked at Martha who smiled in a way that told him it was part of their plan for his birthday. "The two of you do realize that my birthday isn't until tomorrow, right?"

"But if we waited until your birthday, it wouldn't be as much of a surprise."

Jonathan raised his hands in surrender and went to give his wife a kiss. Then he tousled his son's hair, planting a kiss on the top of his head.

"By the way," Jonathan looked down at his son. "Did you cut through the Wilson farm on your way to or from school?"

Clark's eyes widened, slightly. "Yes."

"Did you happen to see a large, blue, pick-up truck on the road? One that, say, might have hit you?"

"Clark?!" Martha exclaimed.

"It didn't hit me. I may have startled the driver, though," he looked sheepish for a moment before his blue eyes looked at his father in earnest. "I stopped only long enough to make sure the driver wasn't hurt."

Martha looked at Jonathan, who explained. "A young woman tracked down the sheriff, who was at the bank when I was, and reported that someone jumped into the road in front of her. She was, apparently, worried that she'd hit the person, but couldn't find any evidence that anyone had been there."

The elder Kents looked at Clark, then, who looked sheepish. "I was in a hurry."

"Clark!" Martha scolded. "You'd better hope she didn't get a good look at you and remember, if you run into her again."

Clark shook his head. "Don't worry, Mom. I was moving way too fast for her to have seen my face."

~Smallville~

Chloe Sullivan walked into the office of The Torch, the high school newspaper she'd served as head writer and editor for the better part of four years, to find a girl with wild red hair sitting at a desk, spinning a pencil.

"Can I help you?"

The other girl looked up. Her blue eyes were rimmed with dark eyelashes and a thin line of black eyeliner under reddish eyebrows. "I don't know, are you the famous Chloe Sullivan, Editor-in-chief of The Torch?"

Chloe grinned. "I don't know about the famous part but the rest is me."

The redhead stood, revealing herself to be shorter than Chloe by about four inches, and offered her hand. "Anastasia Reynolds. But I won't answer to anything other than Stasi. Unless you really want to call me 'Photo-goddess', then I'll answer to that."

Chloe smiled. "'Photo-goddess'?"

Stasi smiled. "I have a plethora of samples to backup that claim." She held up a USB drive.

Chloe looked intrigued. "You're a photographer?"

"Yep. Just transferred to your illustrious institute of secondary education and am seeking gainful employ."

Chloe nodded, then took the jump drive. She put it into her computer and sat down, offering the other girl a seat. As she moved through the photos, she found she was impressed. "These are really good."

Stasi grinned. "It is my one vice: pride in my eye. But the rest of me is quite humble, I assure you."

Chloe grinned. "Welcome to _The Torch_ , Stasi." She offered her hand.

Stasi stood and took Chloe's hand. "Thank you, Chief."

Chloe laughed. "Just Chloe."

Stasi grinned. "If you insist."

~Smallville~

The lens settled into focus. Stasi took a deep breath, let it out, and then held it as she pressed the trigger. Breathing normally again, she moved her hand over the aperture ring to the focusing ring and zoomed in closer to her subject. She focused to sharpen the image, controlled her breathing again, then pressed the trigger again.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Stasi looked up at Chloe from where she sat on the bleachers, overlooking the various students taking physical education classes on the track and field below, and chuckled. "Oh, these thoughts are a LOT more expensive and, probably, require proof of identification."

Chloe laughed and sat next to her.

"Look," Stasi said. She pulled the camera away from her face and turned on the small LCD screen on the camera.

"It's digital?" Chloe looked like a kid in a candy store.

Stasi grinned. She pushed the button to show pictures that were in the hard drive of the camera.

"Ah," Chloe grinned as she saw the primary subject. "Don't even think about it, my friend," she took on a sympathetic tone. "That subject has broken many a pining heart."

Stasi looked over at her. "That's fine. I am not looking for any entanglements. Let me be one of the conquests in his wake." She chuckled.

"It's not that he's had conquests," Chloe corrected.

"Seriously? Huh," Stasi said, resuming her pose of looking through the viewfinder. "A good photographer has to check for light and focus from time to time. For sanity's sake, I select a piece of eye candy. _That_ is definitely eye candy."

Chloe nodded. "Well, you'll get no argument there. Just watch that you don't fall for him. He's as available as the gold in Fort Knox."

Stasi looked over at Chloe and grinned. "I have no heart to lose, Chloe. Rest assured. What can you tell me about Fort Knox over there?"

"His name is Clark. He's a senior. Farm boy. Quarterback. Super sweet and, of course, cute. And completely unavailable."

Stasi looked at Chloe. "Ouch," she looked hard at Chloe. "You were one of those pining hearts, I take it."

Chloe looked back a Stasi, surprised. "What? Oh," she shook her head. "No, I crushed on him a little, but that's history. Once you meet him, I'm sure you'll understand why, but, no, we're just friends. He's my best friend, in fact."

"Wow." The redhead shook her head and refocused on Clark's group. "So, no sticky fingers with Eye Candy? Such a shame."

Chloe smiled. "That's funny. Not hilarious, mind you."

"So, stay away from the Apollo?"

The blonde laughed. "Yeah. Unless you come up with way better material."

"Better writers, right, Chief. I'll just stick to pictures."

"You don't have to call me Chief…"

~Smallville~

Clark Kent walked into _The Torch_ office to find someone else at Chloe's desk. He frowned, suspicious that someone might be trespassing in his best friend's precious newsroom. "Excuse me," he called, guardedly.

She looked up and a smile spread across her face. "Well, hello, Eye Candy," she said.

Clark's eyes widened. Then he frowned. "Excuse me?"

Leaning back in the swivel office chair, she grinned. "Sure."

Momentarily confused, he frowned. Recovering, he asked. "Who are you?"

Swinging the office chair to the left and right, she looked him up and down. "I'm the new photographer and you are the piece of yumminess that jumps in front of moving vehicles without signaling."

Uncomfortable under her scrutiny, then alarmed, Clark's blue eyes widened. "What?"

"I was driving the truck that almost hit you on Highway 90."

He glanced around the room, nervously. "Ah – What?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I have a photographic memory. I never forget a face," she grinned. "And I was convinced I'd hit yours, so there's _that_ for making an impression."

Clark looked away. "I - ah – "

"Name's Stasi," she interrupted. "And just in case you didn't know, everyone has secrets. Yours is safe with me. No worries."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "Mine?"

She looked over at the Wall of Weird, a large section of wall that held newspaper clippings of unusual happenings that have occurred in Smallville since the meteor show years earlier. "There are a lot of unusual things that happen here, Eye Candy. Apparently, yours is, as of yet, undiscovered. I won't tell anyone that you move at Warp speed."

He shook his head with a nervous grin. "I'm telling you," he protested, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She looked into her camera and grinned. "Whatever you say, Eye Candy."

Clark frowned. "Could you stop calling me that?"

"Nope," said without looking up. After another heartbeat, she smiled and glanced up at him. "How can I call you anything else? I've told you my name, but yours is still a mystery." She straightened. "To me, at least."

Clark rubbed his hand on his jeans. "Clark."

She rose from the chair and gathered up her books and camera. "Now I can stop calling you 'Eye Candy'," She moved past him on her way out the door. "At least out loud." She looked up at him and winked as she left the room.

Clark was still frowning when Chloe walked in.

"Hey, Clark!" Chloe smiled. "What's up?"

"You have a new photographer?"

"Stasi." Chloe acknowledged. "She's a really great photographer. And quite a character."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "A character? I guess you could say that."

Chloe smiled. "Oh, yes." She looked curious. "I haven't been able to get her backstory yet, but she seems wise beyond her years and quirky."

Clark nodded.

"You should get to know her," Chloe said, suddenly.

Clark's eyes widened with surprise, then he looked at Chloe sidelong. "What?"

"Well, she seemed interested and she might be the right thing to help you get past the past."

Clark pressed his lips together. "Chloe," he said with a groan.

Chloe shrugged. "Just a thought, Clark."


	2. Secrets

Clark closed his locker and turned to go to his Economics class. He turned to see the new _Torch_ photographer taking pictures of random people in the hall. He swallowed and turned away.

Stasi's lens had just focused on the tall quarterback when he noticed her and turned away. She frowned at his look and lowered her camera. She stashed it and moved through the crowd to catch up with him.

"You know," she said, when she caught up with him. "This school doesn't look as big on the outside as it seems on the inside."

Clark looked down at her, with a frown. "What?"

"I think I've been late to every class so far," she smiled. "But maybe it doesn't seem as far for you. Your legs are probably twice as long as mine." She looked down at his legs as they walked, then down at her own.

"Maybe you should stop taking pictures between classes."

"I know I should." She chuckled. "I just can't help it. The world seems more beautiful through my viewfinder."

Clark nodded. He stopped walking, then. After an awkward moment of silence, he cleared his throat. "Well, this is me." He indicated the door next to him as he stopped.

"Oh! Yeah," Stasi chuckled. "Well, see you later." She started walking away but looked back as Clark entered his classroom.

~Smallville~

Clark walked into the Talon, the renovated movie theater that served as a coffee shop and a very popular hotspot for the local teen scene. He moved through the crowd toward the counter to place an order.

"Hey there, Eye Candy – oh, I mean, Clark!"

Inwardly grimacing, Clark turned to face the chipper voice. "Stasi."

Stasi was curled up on the couch to his right with a coffee cup held in both hands in front of her smile. "How are you?"

Clark put his hands in his jeans pockets. "I'm good. You?"

"Better now that I see a familiar face. Have a seat?"

He hesitated, looked around for a moment to see if he could see any other place to go, then, finally, nodded and sat down at her feet, which she moved to the floor as he sat down.

"So," Stasi picked up a spoon and started stirring her coffee, focusing on the dark liquid swirling in her cup. "What do I have to do to get you to understand that you can trust me?"

Clark looked at her. "What?"

She looked him in the eye, then. "Every time you look at me, it's like you're waiting for me to start shouting to the rafters."

He shook his head, offering a nervous smile. "I-I don't think that. Trust just takes time."

She nodded. "Yet it's very difficult to start a friendship that is built on a foundation of distrust."

He frowned.

"I told you that your secret is safe with me."

Clark looked out to the crowd. "And I told you that I don't know what you're talking about."

She looked over at him and waited.

Uncomfortable under her gaze, he glanced at her. "What?"

She pursed her lips. "Is there some place we can go?"

Clark's eyes widened.

"Relax, Cowboy, I'm not planning to take advantage of you. If it will make you feel better, I'd be willing to share one of my secrets with you. Just so that we're even."

Clark shook his head. "You don't have to…one of your secrets?" His eyebrows rose.

Stasi winked with a mischievous grin. "Oh, I have many secrets, but this one is a fair trade."

He frowned. But his curiosity was piqued. With his blue eyes narrowed, he offered, cautiously. "There's an alley out back?"

She smiled and grabbed his hand, squeezing it before quickly releasing it. "Let's go then."

On their way out, she stopped to buy an apple from the Talon counter. Then she followed Clark through the theater to the rear exit.

Once outside, she turned and smiled up at him. Clark looked down at her with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. In turn, she rolled her eyes and grinning, turned to walk away, causing him to frown. He took a step to follow, but stopped as she spoke.

"So, as a quarterback," she said over her shoulder. "You have to throw the ball, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, slowly.

She stopped and turned to face him. "Do you have to be able to catch as well?"

"It makes returning the ball easier." He wondered where this was going.

She took the apple and held it up. "Catch," she said. Then she threw it at him.

Clark put his hand up to catch the apple easily in the air, but it suddenly stopped, midair, inches from his hand. Then it started spinning. He reached out to touch it and it pulled back, away from his hand. Then he pulled his hand back and looked at her.

She smiled, raised an eyebrow, then looked back at the apple. "Put your hand out."

Once he did, the apple dropped easily into his hand.

He looked at it the apple. His narrowed eyes then looked over at her. "How?"

She shrugged and stepped, slowly, toward him. "It's called telekinesis."

He frowned. "Did it start after the meteor shower?"

Stasi shook her head. "I've never been to Smallville before last month. As far as I know, I was born with it."

He looked down at the apple in his hand, again. He looked at her again. "You said you have other secrets?"

"Ah," she smiled, slyly. "Secrets are for exchanging. One for one, but I'm not ready to reveal all my secrets, any more than you are."

Clark nodded, still frowning at the apple in his hand.

"Listen," She drew near to him again and touched his denim jacket. "I hope you can believe me, now, when I say I know how to keep a secret." She looked up at him and smiled. "Good night, Clark." She walked past him and through the alley as he turned to watch her, until she turned the corner.

~Smallville~

Clark entered the office of _The Torch_ , looking for Stasi. Instead, he found Chloe.

"Oh, hey, Clark!" Chloe's brightened when she saw her friend. "How are you?"

Clark nodded. "I'm okay. Hey, Chloe, what do you know about Stasi?"

Chloe's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Could those baby blues be focused on our newest staffer?"

Clark frowned. "Chloe," his tone held a warning.

Chloe laughed. She stood from her chair. "Well, to answer your question. Not much. I know she moved to Smallville last month and she lives in an abandoned farmhouse on Highway 40. Alone."

He frowned. "Alone?"

"Yes. It seems that she is an emancipated minor."

He frowned. "Emancipated? What does that mean?"

"It means that the courts have determined that I am able to be responsible enough to be on my own instead of living with parental units."

Chloe and Clark turned to see Stasi standing at the door. Her left eyebrow was up as she moved into the room. "Should know not to try to keep secrets from a reporter, right?" She said, with a smirk, walking past Clark and Chloe to the computer she downloaded her work to.

"Stasi, I –" Chloe started, shaking her head as if to apologize.

Stasi looked at her. "Relax, Chief. The truth is, I'm not emancipated. Exactly. I graduated from the Foster Care System about a month ago. Once I turned 18."

Clark's eyes narrowed. "Foster Care?"

Stasi nodded. "Ever since I was three."

Chloe looked guilty. "Stasi, I'm sorry."

"Like I said, Chief, no worries."

"Chief?" Clark asked.

Chloe looked embarrassed at her friend and shook her head as she turned to look at the young photographer. "Yeah, ah, seriously, Stasi, you've got to stop calling me that."

Stasi picked up a book from the desk and smiled. "Yeah," She said, slowly. "I…don't see that happening." She walked past Chloe and approached Clark. Then she looked up at him. "Secrets are for sharing, Eye Candy," she grinned. "No fair, trying to steal them." Then she walked out of the office.

Clark's eyes followed her out, then he looked at Chloe, who shared his look of guilt. He turned and followed the photographer.

"Stasi!"

The redhead turned to face the voice calling her. When she saw Clark jogging down the hall, she smiled and paused. "And here I was thinking I might actually get to class on time."

He caught up to her and adjusted his backpack on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I should have asked you instead."

Stasi shrugged. "It's really no big deal." She looked up at him and said. "I know how difficult it is to trust people. You can ask me anything. I may not answer every question you ask, but I will never find fault in anyone for expressing curiosity."

Clark nodded. "That's fair enough."

She reached out and touched his arm. "No worries, Cowboy. We'll talk later."

~Smallville~

Clark was working on the tractor in front of his barn when a lifted blue pick-up pulled into the drive. His eyebrows rose. He grabbed the rag and wiped his hands, then walked toward the truck as Stasi got out.

"Don't you think that's a big truck for someone your size?" Clark asked, with a smile.

Stasii looked up at her vehicle and smiled. "I think it's the right size, actually. I get great reactions from guys like you when I get out."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "Like me?"

"You know, tall, dark and eye candy," she grinned.

His smile was replaced by a look of chagrin at her favorite term for him. "Thirsty?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Lemonade."

She nodded and followed Clark into the house. "This is a real nice place, Clark."

He nodded. "Thanks." He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out the lemonade and two glasses. He poured a glass for her and motioned for her to have a seat. So, she pulled up a stool around the island.

"So, ask away."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "Right to it?"

Stasi smiled. "So that way we can get air clear and move on."

He looked guilty.

She grinned. "Come on, Cowboy," she said. "Relax on the guilty face and just ask your questions. But I get to ask questions too. And either of us can decline to answer at any time, no hard feelings."

He relaxed visibly. "Where are you from?"

"Hmm." She looked up. "My birth certificate says Gotham. I spent most of my time between Granville and Star City. I last came from Metropolis." She looked at him. "What about you? Lived in Smallville all your life?"

"All that I can remember. I was adopted as a baby, never knew where I born, exactly." Clark tilted his head. "You've always had your ability?"

"I think I must have been three when it came out. That's when my parents freaked and gave me up for adoption."

He frowned. "Really?"

She nodded, with a shrug as she considered her lemonade. "I mean it must have really been weird when the three-year-old wants a cookie and then can lift the cookie jar from the top of the fridge without touching it."

Clark's frown deepened. "So they just gave you up?"

She shrugged, again. "Your parents know about your ability?"

Clark nodded. "Yes."

"Lucky. But maybe warp speed is a little easier to control. After all, it only presents when you're running, right?"

Clark looked uncomfortable. "It's not my only ability."

Stasi's eyebrows rose. "Really?" She held up a hand. "Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable."

Clark looked into his glass. "It's just that I haven't had a lot of luck when it comes to telling my secrets."

Stasi nodded. "Listen. If anyone understands about the hazards of overshare, it's me." She shrugged. "But one of the great things in life is that there are all kinds of kinds. It's true that you can't guarantee how someone will react to your trust, but on the other hand, you can't guarantee how someone will react either." She smiled.

Clark smiled, relaxing further. "How many foster homes have you been in?"

She shrugged, tucking her an unruly red lock behind her ear. "I've lost count. Probably five or six a year until I was a teenager and became better able to control myself. Then two, maybe three a year. By the time you're a teen in the foster system, the newness has worn off and people want to adopt babies, not teens with chips on their shoulders."

"That's horrible."

Stasi shrugged. "I didn't have any really bad experiences, though," she grinned. "There was one guy who made a move once, but I hit him from behind with a vase and he never tried anything again. I also switched fosters shortly after."

Clark frowned.

She took a sip of lemonade. "Now I live in a house that belonged to my maternal grandmother. Apparently, it was willed to me. And I didn't find out until just before I turned 18. So, I'm slowly fixing up the house and, maybe one day, I'll figure out how to make a working farm out of it. So, you see? Everything works out in the end."

Clark smiled. "How is it you're so cheerful all the time?"

Stasi looked at him, sidelong. "Not all the time," she said. "I do have my moments, but I try to keep a positive attitude." She picked up the lemonade, but didn't drink. "Besides, I'm free. I don't have anyone looking over my shoulder. No one has to know what I can do unless I want them to. I'm making a fresh start. It's liberating, in a way. So, why shouldn't I have a positive attitude?"

Clark's blue eyes focused on her, under dark eyebrows that were drawn together.

A smiled touched face as her equally blue eyes met his. "What?"

Blinking and looking away, he smiled. "Nothing."

She laughed. "Seriously, what?"

Clark chuckled. "I've never met anyone like you." He stood and returned to the fridge. "You have this story that could turn anyone into an extremely angry and bitter person." He turned back to her. "But you're not."

She blushed. "I wasn't always like this. When I was sixteen, I lived with this couple who were, for lack of a better term, hippies. They were older, so they weren't in the market for a 'permanent placement' but I think I spent more time in that home than any other. Dan, that was the husband, was a Yogi. He taught me yoga and his wife, Hannah, taught me that anger and hate damage your own spirit more than it hurts anyone else. It took a lot of time, but I realized that they were right. Hannah was actually the one that introduced me to photography." She swallowed and studied her hands. "She told me that anytime I feel that world around me was getting too dark that I could always find light through the lens of my camera."

Clark stepped around the island with the lemonade pitcher, as if to fill up her glass, but sat next to her instead, putting his hand over hers.

She looked up at him and he smiled, wordlessly. She smiled back and looked back down at their hands. "Pax?"

He frowned. "Pax?"

"It means 'truce'."

"Were we fighting?"

Stasi looked back at him. "Not exactly. But I would hope you can start to trust me now."

His eyebrows rose. "It would be kind of rude not to, after you've trusted me with so much."

She straightened on her stool. "Hey, you're right! I definitely gave you more secrets than you gave me!"

He smiled and nodded. "So ask your question," he responded, bracing himself.

She looked thoughtful, pressing her lips together in a pout. "You get along with your parents?"

Surprised, Clark's smile widened. "Yeah. They're great." He looked down for a brief second, then looked back at her. "To be honest, they can be a little over-protective, especially about my secret."

She nodded. "Completely understandable." She thought for another moment. "Any brothers or sisters?"

He shook his head. "No. My parents weren't able to have kids of their own. Then a couple of years ago..." he glanced away. "But there was an accident…"

She put her free hand on top of his and squeezed. "I'm sorry, Clark."

He nodded. "Did you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No." She frowned. "Well, not as far as I know."

The kitchen door opened and Martha Kent walked in carrying a bag of groceries. "Hey, Clark," she started, then stopped. "Oh, hello."

Stasi smiled. "Hello," she lifted her hand to wave, then looked down at Clark's hand holding hers then up at him, eyes wide.

Clark's eye widened and he pulled his hand back quickly. "Oh, uh, hi, Mom!" He stood and moved to take the bag of groceries away from his mother.

Martha handed over the groceries but didn't stop looking at Stasi. "I'm Martha, Clark's mother."

"Anastasia Reynolds," she smiled. "But everyone calls me Stasi."

Clark's eyebrows rose. "Anastasia?" His smile was wide. "Like the Russian princess?"

Stasi looked at him with narrowed eyes for a moment. "Yes, Eye Candy, like the Russian princess."

Martha's eyebrows rose. "'Eye Candy'?" She smiled up at Clark.

Clark's smile faded as he looked from Stasi to his mother. "Ah, yeah. Stasi has a weird sense of humor."

Stasi pouted. "Mrs. Kent, it's not so much a sense of humor as a statement of fact. Your son is clearly –"

Clark interrupted. "Stasi!" His eyes were wide.

She laughed. She looked at Martha. "He's right. I do have a twisted sense of humor. And Clark's clear consternation just makes him a great target."

Martha laughed. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Stasi tilted her head. "I would love to, but," she looked at Clark. "I have work to do at the farm." Her eyes widened. "Oh! And not to mention homework! I completely forgot about Chemistry!" She stood and picked up her glass, which Clark took from her. "Thanks for the lemonade, Clark. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Kent."

Martha took the glass from Clark and motioned with her eyes for him to go with Stasi. "It was nice to meet you, too, Stasi."

Clark nodded and followed her out of the house. "Stasi," he called out as she stepped off the porch.

She turned and looked up at him.

He shoved a hand in his pocket and made a slight waving motion with his other. "Thanks for coming by."

She smiled and nodded. "Thanks for having me. You'll have to return the favor, sometime. I enjoyed our talk."

His smile widened. "Sure. See you at school tomorrow?"

She nodded again. "I'll be there, bright and early, at the Torch." She waved and walked out his gate to her truck. When she reached it, she turned around and waved again.

Clark smiled as he watched her climb up into the beast she liked to drive, marveling that she was able to get in so easily. She pulled out of the driveway as his father pulled in.

"Well, she seems nice."

Clark turned and looked at his mother. "Yeah," he smiled. "She is. She's the new photographer at The Torch. Just moved into town."

"Well, she must be special if you're holding hands with her already," she looked hopeful.

He frowned. "That wasn't what it looked like."

"Wasn't like what looked like?" Jonathan Kent smiled at them as he climbed the steps of the porch.

"Clark was holding hands with a girl in the kitchen," Martha smiled.

"She was telling me a troubling story from her past and I put my hand on hers to comfort her. That's all."

Martha nodded, her eyebrows raised and her mouth set in a grin. "I have to get dinner started."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows after her and patted his son's shoulder as he followed her in.


	3. Parental Unit

Stasi sat at her desk in The Torch frowning over a picture on the computer when Chloe and Clark walked in.

"Hey, there!" Chloe intoned, brightly.

Stasi glanced up and smiled. "Hey, Chief, Clark." Her eyes returned to the screen in front of her.

Clark frowned when he saw that her smile didn't light up her eyes as it usually did. "What's wrong?"

Stasi glanced up again. "What?"

Chloe stepped nearer. "Is something wrong, Stasi?"

"Oh! No, not really. Nash is busting my chops because I got Coach Quigley to agree to a photo spread on the football team when he couldn't."

Chloe smiled. "Remember that Brendan Nash has been the resident photographer since freshman year. It's only natural that he would be resistant to competition."

Stasi nodded. "Yeah, I figured."

"So, you're going to be taking pictures of all the football players?" Clark asked, his eyebrows raised.

Stasi, still looking at her computer, straightened. A slow smile spread across her face. "Hey, Chloe," she pulled her eyes from the computer as her smile widened. "Do you think we could need underwear shots?" She raised her eyebrows at Chloe, then glanced at a now, very uncomfortable Clark.

"What?" he asked.

Chloe's eyebrows rose and she pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile. "It certainly has its appeal."

"Now, wait a minute…" Clark protested, his eyes wide and his eyebrows up. He could feel that color was starting to creep into his cheeks.

Chloe frowned. "But then we'd have to make a calendar."

"Chloe!" Clark protested.

As if Clark hadn't spoken, Stasi's eyes brightened. "Oh, yeah!" Then she frowned,. "But who would get on the calendar?"

"We do have more than twelve players."

"Stasi, Chloe, wait…you can't be serious…"

"We'd have to choose…" Stasi stood, tapping her chin thoughtfully with her pen.

"Maybe put a committee together," Chloe nodded.

"Then we'd have to decide who would be on what months…" Stasi looked at Clark with a frown. "When's your birthday, Clark? Or would you prefer January, since you're, what most would consider, the number one guy on the team?"

His demeanor changed and, straightening, Clark narrowed his eyes and looked from Chloe to Stasi and back again. He shook his head. "It's not going to happen," he asserted, firmly.

The two women started to laugh.

"Very funny," Clark said. His eyebrows rose. "Seriously, what kind of photo shoot are you doing?"

Stasi grinned. "You're such a good sport, Clark."

Clark was chagrined. "It's a good thing."

"I was going to take official yearbook photos, a group shot, one each of the players posing in their uniforms, then some of the team on the field and some of the players in the halls." Stasi shrugged. "Really, no big deal, but the deadline for the yearbook is before the end of football season and Coach wasn't thrilled about a photographer distracting the team. I convinced him that I could do it in such a way as to minimize distractions."

"With that hair?" Clark looked incredulous. "I doubt it."

Stasi's mouth dropped open and an incredulous smile spread across his face. "Wow…give almost as good as you get, do ya? Good job, Cowboy!"

Chloe grinned. "Feel better?"

Stasi looked from Chloe to Clark and back. "Nice Tag Team. I am back from the abyss. Thanks." She went back to her computer. "Still say we should do a calendar. Think of the fundraising opportunities."

"Just count me out," Clark shook his head.

"You're no fun," Stasi attempted to pout but her smile wouldn't allow it. She paused, then turned back to them. "Hey, what are you guys doing on Saturday?" Stasi asked, her voice changing with her tack.

Chloe frowned and shook her head. "No plans here." She looked at Clark.

"Nothing that I know of."

Stasi nodded. "Why don't you guys come out to my place? I'll feed you pizza and soda if you don't mind helping me with some very minor repairs to the farmhouse. After, we'll veg and tease Clark some more," she grinned at Clark, who responded with a cool look back at her.

Chloe grinned. "Sure, Stasi. I'd love to help. Unpacking? Decorating? What should we expect?"

Stasi smiled. "A little of everything. I've lived there for a month and a half now, but I never seem to make headway."

Clark smiled. "I'll make sure I have my tools with me."

"Great! So you're both coming?"

Chloe and Clark both, nodded. The bell rang to change classes and Stasi swept her things up in her arms. "Thanks guys! I'd better go. If I'm late to March's class one more time, I'm in detention! Thanks again!"

Chloe and Clark watched her go and turned to look at each other.

"A Calendar?" Clark asked.

Her eyes dances as Chloe grinned. "What? 'Think of the fundraising opportunities'!"

Clark shook his head and moved out of the office.

~Smallville~

Saturday, Clark, Chloe and Stasi were working in the house, sprucing up the interior. Clark was making minor repairs as Chloe assisted Stasi with unpacking and interior decorating ideas. True to her word, Stasi ordered pizza for lunch and the three of them sat on the front porch swing and chairs to eat.

They were laughing at something Stasi was saying to make fun of herself for something that she'd dropped.

"It looked like something straight out of a 'Three Stooges' film," Chloe laughed.

"That's me: 'Hey, Moe!'" Stasi said, breathlessly. "Needless to say, juggling is not one of my skills."

Clark joined his friends in laughter. He reached for his soda, but had to fight to stop laughing before taking a sip. That's when he heard the car.

He sobered, slightly, and stood to see a small, silver car coming up the long dirt drive. "Are you expecting anyone else?"

Stasi swallowed her laughter and stood next to him. "No. I wonder who that could be."

Chloe joined them. "I don't recognize the car."

The three waited and watched the car draw closer and come to a stop in front of them. An older man, white with sandy hair and hazel eyes, stepped out with a hesitant smile. "Hello, uh, I'm looking for Anastasia Reynolds."

Stasi's eyes narrowed. Clark noticed the difference in this man's pronunciation compared to Stasi's. Instead of "Ah-na-stah-see-ah", he said "Ana-stay-sha". He looked at her and saw the humor gone from her face and her jaw set.

"Who's asking?" she responded, clearly on guard.

"I'm her father," the man said.

Stasi took a step back as if hit.

Chloe put an arm around her and Clark stepped forward as if to impose himself between them.

"Annie?" the man asked.

"My name is Stasi."

The man looked down at his feet and, then, back up at her. "Sorry. Stasi. You look like your mother."

Stasi's face was hard. "No. I don't. I have a box full of pictures of her. What do you want?"

"I just want to talk."

"I'm not interested in hearing what you have to say. You gave up your right to speak to me fifteen years ago." Stasi whirled out of Chloe's grasp and stepped back in the house.

Chloe and Clark exchanged looks, then Chloe followed her friend into the house. Clark looked back at the man in front of him.

"Listen, Mr…"

"Tom Reynolds."

"Mr. Reynolds, why don't you tell me where you're staying and I'll give her the information. If she changes her mind, she'll come and find you."

Reynolds looked hesitantly past Clark, who stepped down to his level, but still towered over him.

Clark continued. "I'm sure you can understand that she's in shock. Give her time."

Reynolds nodded. "I'm staying at the Rooster Inn in Smallville. Room 214."

Clark nodded. "I'll tell her."

Reynolds got back into his car and drove it back off the property. Once he was gone, Clark turned and went back into the house.

Stasi and Chloe were sitting on the couch in the front room when Clark entered. Stasi was sitting very straight with her hands clenched on her lap, while Chloe sat next to her, looking concerned.

"He's gone."

Chloe nodded and Stasi looked up at him. After a moment, she nodded as well.

"Stasi, are you okay?" Clark asked.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Chloe prodded, gently.

"As far as I know, I was three and he was dropping me off at an orphanage," Stasi shook her head. "Why would he show up here after all these years?"

Clark sat on the coffee table in front of the girls. "Why don't you ask him? What would be so bad about giving him the chance to explain?"

"I don't want to have anything to do with him!" Stasi said. "What could he say that would make it okay to give his only child away?"

"Maybe he and your mom had a good reason," Chloe offered. "Like, financial reasons. Maybe they thought they couldn't afford to take care of you…"

"For fifteen years?!" Stasi pulled away and stood. "If you gave up your child because of finance, wouldn't you go back and get her as soon as your situation changed?"

Chloe dipped her eyes. "Yeah…"

Stasi shook her head. "I don't want anything to do with him." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry he ruined the good time we were having."

"Hey!" Chloe stood. "No way. We'll just regroup."

Clark nodded. "Sure, we can still have a good time."

Stasi frowned and shook her head. "I appreciate it, Chloe, but I think I'd just rather be alone."

Chloe's face dropped to show the empathetic concern she felt. "Okay," she nodded. "I'll see you Monday at school. But if you need anything, call me, anytime."

Stasi smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks, Chief."

Chloe smiled. "Good night, Stasi."

Clark stepped closer to Stasi as Chloe went to the door. The dark eyebrows were furrowed over his light eyes. "Are you okay?"

She touched his arm and looked up, grateful. "Yeah. I just need to think. Thanks, for everything."

He pressed his lips together and nodded. "If anything, call." He grinned and dropped his voice. "I'll be here in a flash."

"Warp speed?" She grinned.

"Faster." He smiled.

"Thanks, Clark." She patted his arm and looked beyond him. "Take Chloe home. I'll be fine."


	4. Difficulty

Stasi was setting up her photography equipment in front of the bleachers on the Smallville High football field. She was preparing to take photos of the players before, during and after practice.

"Is it first come, first serve?"

She turned to see Clark, smiling down at her in his uniform, his red and yellow Crows helmet under his arm. "Well, I was thinking about going by numbers…" she grinned. "But first come, works for me."

He smiled his closed-mouth smile that told her that he wasn't too sure of himself.

She smiled widely. "Relax, Eye Candy. Come on. Stand on the bottom bleacher step and put your foot on the bench."

His eyebrows knitted together and his eyes narrowed. "What?"

She chuckled. "Trust me, Cowboy. I've got you. I would never do anything that makes you look like anything but the great football god you are."

His eyebrows rose. "Football god?"

She laughed. "Do as you're told."

He put his foot on the bleacher as instructed and she positioned his helmet on his thigh and his forearm on the helmet, so that he was slightly bent at the hip, but still mostly erect. She stepped up on the second row of benches behind him and began to smooth his hair.

He frowned. "What are you doing?"

"My job, Quarterback. Now relax."

Once satisfied, she moved down to the ground, then stepped up on a footstool. She looked through her viewfinder. She clicked a couple of shots and checked lighting and her settings.

Clark began to wonder if she was filling up an entire roll with just him. "Ah, Stasi?"

She smiled. "Hold on." She made some adjustments, then raised the camera one more time. "Okay. One serious, looking at me." He complied. "One serious, looking past me. At the future."

He frowned. "What?"

"At something over my shoulder, or my head, in your 'I'm-so-incredibly-tall' way."

He grinned. "It's not my fault you haven't hit that final growth spurt yet."

She lowered her camera and looked at him. "Bite me, Cowboy," she grinned. "Now, be serious."

He swallowed his smile, but his eyes were still dancing when she took the picture. She glared at him and he cleared his throat and tried to look serious.

She took a few more shots, then she said. "Now, look at the camera a smile."

He frowned. "What?"

She shook her head. "I say frown, you smile. I say smile, you frown."

He tilted his head and looked at her, curiously.

"Listen, just give me the great big pearly white smile that you get when you think of me calling you 'Eye Candy'," she smiled.

He raised his eyebrows at her.

She laughed. "Okay, then think of me falling on my butt, like something out of 'The Three Stooges'."

He laughed.

"That's what I'm talking about." She started clicking photos.

Something caught his eye and his smile faded.

"Oh, come on, Clark!" She said. "I finally got –"

"Stasi," he warned, looking behind her.

She turned and saw Tom Reynolds walking across the field. She turned back to Clark. Then she saw the line of football players that were waiting for their turn. "Clark," she whispered, fervently. "Can you run interference? I can't...not in front of everyone…"

He gave her a reassuring smile and touched shoulder, as he nodded and moved out toward the field.

She glanced after him, then smiled at her next victim. "Alright, you saw Clark do it, it's not rocket science. Let's go!"

"She's not interested in seeing you right now, Mr. Reynolds."

"No offense, young man, but I need to talk to her. Not you."

"And she's busy. She asked me to keep you away." He put his hand out to grasp Reynolds' shoulder. "Give her time."

Reynolds looked up at Clark. "Time? Time alone will not soften her heart. I need to talk to her."

"Maybe. But now is not a good time. She is doing something and she needs her focus." He looked back at the football players surrounding the redheaded photographer. "And embarrassing her in front of the entire football team will not make her want you in her life any sooner."

Reynolds looked up at him, then back at Stasi. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. Another time. But I will have my say, young man."

"Clark."

"Clark. I will have my say, one way or another. You can tell her that for me."

As he turned on his heel and walked back the way he came, Clark narrowed his eyes after him. When the man left the school's property, Clark turned back to Stasi and the rest of his team.

~Smallville~

Stasi was sitting in _The Torch_ , going through the pictures of the football team she'd taken.

"Finally."

She froze. Finally, she looked up. Her face became neutral and her eyes hooded. "What do you want?"

"You," Reynolds smiled.

"Too late." She glared at him. "You should have come looking years ago.

"I have a court order that says you have to come with me."

"I'm eighteen! You can't!"

"You're a high school student, not an adult." Reynolds smiled. "I'm your father. I can. And I will."

"You haven't been my father since I was three!" Stasi stood. "Tell me, 'Pops', what happened? Was it money? Or something else? Did you discover something about your toddler that freaked you out and you couldn't handle it?"

"Stasi, you need to calm down."

"And what about my mother? What are her thoughts in all of this?"

"She's dead."

Stasi stopped short. "What?"

Reynolds looked down. "She committed suicide after your sister died."

Stasi staggered. "Sister?"

"Yeah. The year after we let you go, we tried to get on with our lives. Your sister was born a year after that, but there were complications and she died. Your mother saw it as an omen. A punishment for what we did to you."

Stasi sat down. "When…?"

"She held on for six years. But she was never the same after Katja's death."

"So she died when I was, what, eleven?" She looked back at him. "And you still didn't want to come after me?"

"Give me a break! I loved your mother. I was devastated by her loss. You were being taken care of and I needed time."

Stasi nodded. "Seven years? And now you want me?"

Reynolds took a deep breath. "I didn't come to argue with you, Annie—"

"Stasi."

He took another deep breath. "The fact of the matter is that I have a court order and you will be moving to Metropolis with me. This weekend."

"What?!"

Reynolds smiled. "This weekend. I've already found a buyer for your grandmother's farm. The matter is closed." He turned on his heel and ran into Clark as he tried to walk out. "Excuse me, Clark," Reynolds snapped, sidestepped the taller, younger man and walked out.

"Stasi?" Clark walked over to her.

Her blue eyes were panicked. "I can't believe this is happening…" her breathing began to speed up and become shallow. "How can he…" She bent as if hit in the gut. "Oh, god, I'm gonna be sick!"

Clark grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her into a chair. He knelt before her and began rubbing her arms. "Just breathe, Stasi. Just breathe. It'll be okay."

Stasi blinked at him, not really seeing him as she tried to calm her breathing. When she blinked again and actually focused on his face, her blue eyes were rimmed with unshed tears, which she quickly banished with a swipe of her hand.

Chloe found them like this a few minutes later and frowned. "Oh, ah, excuse me?"

Clark turned and looked at her. "Chloe."

Stasi swung the swivel office chair she sat in around so that her back was to them.

Chloe frowned. "What happened?"

"Mr. Reynolds wants to take Stasi to Metropolis and sell her farm."

Chloe's eyes widened as her eyebrows knitted together. "What?!"

He nodded. "He says he has a court order."

"But she's eighteen! And Reynolds gave up his rights to her when she was a baby!" Chloe walked over to Stasi and touched her shoulder. "There's got to be something we can do…"

Stasi turned and looked at her friend, gratefully. "I don't know how. I'm a broke high school student with no resources. He's gotten a court to give him custody of an eighteen-year-old he gave up for adoption fifteen years ago. I can't see being able to fight it without a battery of lawyers."

Clark moved closer to her. "We'll figure something out, Stasi."

A bell rang and Stasi stood, grabbing her books. "In the meantime, life goes on. Don't want to give him fuel for his fire by skipping class."

Despite Chloe's protests, Stasi moved quickly out of the room, leaving Chloe looking up at Clark with fear.


	5. Danger

Clark moved through the halls of Luthor Mansion with familiar ease and opened the doors to Lex's office.

Lex Luthor looked up from his computer at Clark and closed the laptop in front of him. "Well, if it isn't the hometown hero."

Clark frowned. "What?"

"I saw the report on last Friday's game. Come from behind worthy of a Hollywood feature," Lex smiled, standing and circling his glass-topped desk. "But I take it you didn't come here to talk football."

Clark looked faintly uncomfortable. "I have friend who needs legal help."

Lex frowned. "Now, Clark, what kind of friend? When did you get involved with the criminal kind?"

"It's not like that," Clark frowned. "Her father's trying to take her back to Metropolis against her will."

Lex's eyebrow rose over blue eyes. "It's not unusual for a high school student to resist a move in the middle of a school year. It's not within my power to interfere…"

"But she's eighteen and her father gave her up for adoption when she was three."

Lex frowned. "Why assert parental control now after all these years?"

Clark shook his head. "He didn't say. I think he may just want the money from the sale of the farm that her grandmother left her."

Lex pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "Why don't you give me her name and I'll have my lawyers look into it."

Clark nodded with a relieved smiled. "Thanks, Lex. Her name is Anastasia Reynolds. Her dad's name is Tom Reynolds."

Lex smiled his closed-mouthed smile and nodded back, writing her name on a pad on his desk. "I only hope I can help."

After Clark left, Lex returned to his computer to finish his response to an email he had just received.

 _From: Treynolds_

 _To: Lex_

 _Subject will be delivered Monday AM, as promised._

 _Tom Reynolds,_ _Asst. Director of Acquisitions_

 _Division of Life Sciences,_ _LuthorCorps_

~Smallville~

Clark stepped up to Stasi's front door and heard yelling inside. He tuned in his extraordinary hearing ability and listened.

"You should be grateful someone who knows you wants you to be in their life!"

"What do you mean ' _knows'_ me?! How could you _know_ me?!"

"Listen, why do you think we gave you up?! We couldn't handle having a freak in the family!"

Clark frowned and opened the door, walking into the living room, intent on defending Stasi from Reynolds.

" _A freak_?!" Stasi shrieked. "Is that what you think of me?! Why would you want a _freak_?!"

"Excuse me," Clark made his presence known, his voice very serious. "I think you need to leave," he put himself between Reynolds and Stasi.

Reynolds frowned and took a deep breath. "I just want to have a chance to make up for the past and get to know my daughter."

Clark frowned, but didn't let on as to how much he'd heard. "You need to leave," he repeated. "Now."

Reynolds looked at Clark, whose blue eyes were accentuated by the dark eyebrows furrowed over them and the angry flash within. Then he turned and walked out.

Stasi looked at Clark. "Thanks, Cowboy," she drew in a shaky breath.

Clark went to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Stasi expelled a breath through her nose while the corner of her mouth quirked up. The smile didn't reach her eyes. "Not by a long shot." She put her hands on his chest and blinked as tears began to fill her eyes. "But I appreciate your help." She sniffled and blinked again, in an obvious effort to control her emotions.

"I heard what he called you."

She looked up at him, her eyebrows up, eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"I won't let him hurt you," he asserted. "I've already talked to a friend who might be able to help."

She sniffed and nodded. "Thank you," she whispered. She pulled away at that point and moved to the fireplace. One hand was on her hip and the other was up by her face. She sniffled and began to shake.

He moved quickly to her and turned her, pulling her to his chest as she cried softly, grasping his flannel shirt in one of her fists. His arms tightened around her as she wept. The more she wept, the more Clark felt angry. "I'm not going to let him hurt you," he ground out.

She sniffled and pulled back, turning away from him again, wiping her face with her shirt. "I just don't understand. He hates me. Why? Why would he want me now?"

Clark looked over her head in the direction of the door. "I don't know, but there's something that's not right. Maybe it has to do with your abilities."

She turned back to look up at him with a frown. Her eyes widened. "Oh, my god! He's going to sell me to science!" She pulled away and moved to the other side of the room. "I don't want to be someone's _science experiment_!"

Clark frowned. "I won't let that happen."

Stasi looked up at him, panic in her eyes. "You keep saying things like that. But what can you do?! If he finds out about you, he'll come after you, too!"

Clark shook his head. In two long strides, he closed the distance between them, grasping her shoulders as he looked down at her. "Remember our conversation about secrets? You told me more than I told you? One of my secrets is strength."

Stasi frowned. "Like Schwarzenegger strength or Lionheart strength?"

He recognized her effort to insert humor, despite everything. "Like it's almost impossible to hurt me."

She shook her head and pulled away, turning away as if to pace the room. "Nobody's invincible, Clark. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me. I'll just...I'll…" Her eyes filled with tears again. "Oh, I _don't know!"_ She sat down heavily on a nearby chair.

Clark felt helpless, watching her looking so hopeless. Unable to stand it, he walked over and pulled her up and into his arms. He held her waiting for tears to begin again, but when they didn't, he said. "Well, you're not going to stay here alone. You're coming to my place. My folks might know what to do."

She sniffled and pulled away. "I don't want anyone to get hurt," she insisted.

Despite his frustration and anger, the corner of his mouth tilted up. "Schwarzenegger strength and Warp speed, remember? No one can touch me."

Stasi's smile didn't reach her eyes. "I appreciate that, Clark. But what about your parents?"

"Don't worry about them. I won't let anyone hurt them, either." He frowned. "Let's just go. Pack something."

Stasi pulled her beast of a truck into the driveway of the Kent farm. When she got out, she rubbed her palms on the thighs of her jeans, as she looked up at the pretty yellow house illuminated against the dark by a porch light and lights on the barn.

Clark came to her and took her bag from her. "Relax."

"I don't like causing people problems, Clark, I've done it all my life by being the unwanted kid. I thought it was over…"

He took her hand, as if to lend her some of his strength. "You're not a problem, Stasi. Reynolds is."

"And I don't want you to think I'm some hysterical female - breaking down like that just isn't me."

"Did you break down?"

He could see her relax as she looked up at him, gratefully, and squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Cowboy"

Jonathan and Martha were sitting in the kitchen when Clark led Stasi in.

"Clark?" Jonathan frowned.

"Mom, Dad, this is Stasi."

"We've met," Martha smiled at the younger woman.

"She needs help," Clark said. "She's being threatened by her biological father."

Jonathan frowned. "How exactly?"

At the same time, a concerned Martha rushed to Stasi's side and ushered Stasi to sit with them. Then she turned to pour a cup of tea for the younger woman.

Stasi smiled at Martha, then she sobered and looked at Jonathan, then Clark, who nodded. "I was given up for adoption when I was three years old. Now that I'm eighteen, he has gone to the courts to say I am incapable of caring for myself until I graduate. He's managed to get custody and is selling my farm."

Jonathan frowned. "How do you know he's not just trying to make up for the past?"

Clark frowned. "She hasn't seen him since she was _three_ and he suddenly shows up with legal papers." He looked at his mother. "And he called her a freak!"

"Why would he call you a freak?" Martha asked, alarmed.

Stasi swallowed, looking at Clark, who nodded. "Hold on to your hats," she smiled, nervously. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the cupcakes on the table in front of them.

Four cupcakes rose from the table, made a circle in the air, then, one by one, set down in front of each of the four people at the table.

Jonathan and Martha stared at the cupcakes that had been delivered to them.

"Oh, I should have gotten the napkins first!" Stasi moaned to Clark.

Clark smiled and put his hand on hers. "It's okay."

"So…" Jonathan was the first of the parents to speak up. "You're telekinetic?"

Stasi blinked, shocked. "Uh, yeah!" She frowned with her left eyebrow raised. "Ah, you...know about telekinesis?"

"There was a kid a couple years ago who developed the ability after an accident put him in a full body cast," Clark mentioned.

Stasi nose wrinkled. "Wow! How horrible for him!" She looked back at the Kent parents. "On two fronts."

"So what do you think your father is after?"

"His name is Tom Reynolds. I have no proof that he's after anything, but the fact that he called me a freak to my face, then changed his tune when Clark - " She stopped and looked up at her blue eyed friend, eyebrows knitted together. "How'd you -" Her eyebrows rose. "Another secret?"

Clark swallowed and looked at his parents, who suddenly looked alarmed. "Ah, I was standing right outside when he said it."

Stasi didn't look convinced. "If you say so, Cowboy."

"I didn't want Stasi to stay alone at her place, just in case Reynolds came back."

Martha frowned at Jonathan, then back to Clark. "You don't think he would hurt her, do you?"

Clark looked down at Stasi, then back to his mother. "I don't know." He frowned. "I just want to be sure, you know?"

"Well, you can stay in Clark's room. He'll sleep down here on the couch," Martha pronounced to Clark's relief and Jonathan's surprise. She took the girl's hand and pulled her up the stairs. "Clark will bring your bag up in a minute. Let me show you where his room is and get you some towels…"

Clark smiled as his mother disappeared up the stairs with Stasi, then he turned to look at his father, who was frowning down at the cupcake in front of him.

He frowned. "Dad?"

"What does she know about you?"

"She saw me that day on the road. I told her I'm strong," At his father's look, his words seemed to come faster as he continued. "But that was after she told me about her own abilities. She's not going to tell anyone about me."

Jonathan frowned. "I hope you're right."

"She didn't even want me to bring her here because she was afraid that she'd be bringing us trouble."

Jonathan looked at him, then.

"I couldn't leave her to face him alone."

Jonathan saw the look in his son's eyes and felt his heart soften. "I trust your judgement, son. I just worry - "

"I know," Clark smiled. "It'll be okay. I know we can trust her."

Jonathan nodded as Martha came down the stairs with blankets, followed by Stasi who was objecting to displacing Clark.

"Seriously," Stasi was saying. "I can sleep on the couch; Clark doesn't have to give up his room!"

Clark chuckled. "Seems Stasi has met her match."

Jonathan chuckled. "Not many can say no to your mother."

Clark smiled as Stasi looked at him.

"Tell her, Clark!"

He shook his head. "I was taught to never contradict my mother."

Stasi looked exasperated. "What, is the couch so much more comfortable than your bed?"

"What," Clark grinned. "Do you have an objection to sleeping in my bed?"

Stasi stopped short, her eyes widening, and, for the first time all evening, she smiled broadly at him - and it reached her eyes. He grinned, knowing exactly where her sense of humor would lead her mind. Then he noticed that his mother and father had stopped to stare at them and turned bright red as Stasi laughed out loud.

"Not bad, Cowboy!" She laughed. "You're learning!" She slapped his bicep and turned back to see Martha's face. Her eyes widened and she spoke quickly. "Oh! Wow….!" She shook her head. "Ah, Mrs. Kent, I, ah, there's nothing...it was joke!" She looked up at Clark, horrified.

Clark swallowed and looked at his mother, pleading.

Martha and Jonathan started to laugh, then. "I guess Clark has finally met someone who makes him think outside the box," Jonathan grinned.

Stasi looked at Clark and Clark grinned down at her. "I told you my folks were cool."

Stasi looked at Martha and Jonathan, then at Clark again, clearly relieved. "Good night, Kents. I've had just enough excitement for today to prepare me for the night ahead." Smiling, she climbed the stairs.

Clark's eyebrows rose and he smiled broadly at his parents, who laughed.

~Smallville~

Tom Reynolds stood in the home office of Lex Luthor, waiting for the man of the house to arrive. He looked around, touching the books on the shelves.

"What are you doing here, Reynolds?" Lex said. "You were supposed to take your charge to Summerholt Institute, not show up here."

"There was a difficulty. The specimen has become hesitant. Perhaps you could increase the amount you'd be willing to pay for the study?"

Lex frowned. "The amount I offered is solid, Mr. Reynolds. It is already unusually high for this kind of study."

Reynolds nodded. "Well, then, maybe more time."

"I can give you another day, Mr. Reynolds. If your subject isn't ready by then," Lex shrugged. "Then I guess you'll have to wait until you have another viable specimen and revisit the idea again in the future."

Reynolds took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay, Mr. Luthor. I will convince the specimen today."

"See that you do."

Reynold's walked out of the Luthor castle and got into his car, where he thought for a moment before turning the key in the ignition.

~Smallville~

Stasi stood next to the fence that looked out to the grazing Kent cattle when Clark found her in the morning. Though she held her camera, she wasn't looking through it and she looked more serious and contemplative than Clark was used to seeing her.

"Are you okay?" he asked after a moment by her side, watching the cows.

She tilted her head for a moment, then looked up at him. "Yeah. I need to thank you, Clark. And your parents."

Clark shrugged. "No, you don't."

Stasi looked up at him, frowning. "Yes, I do. Your kindness definitely qualifies as above and beyond. How did you sleep, by the way?"

He grinned and rubbed his neck. "I've had better."

She looked horrified. "I knew it! I shouldn't have taken your room! I knew there was no way for you to get comfortable on the couch! I could have..."

Clark smiled. "Relax, Stasi! I slept fine! I'm just giving you a hard time."

Stasi's eyebrows drew together and she punched his arm, lightly. Then she looked at his arm, with a curious frown. She grabbed his bicep, then. "Holy crap, Cowboy!"

He chuckled. "Mom's making breakfast."

Stasi nodded, looking out at the fields, pensive, again.

"What is it?" he frowned.

"I was thinking that maybe I should run. I only have to stay away until I graduate." She looked up at him. "Maybe, then, I can come back and, maybe, buy back my farm."

Clark placed his hands on her shoulders. "You should stay. Chloe, my folks and I will help you fight this. And I told you, I have a friend who said he'll work on it."

Stasi shook her head. "But what if your friend can't help?"

He looked over her head, thoughtfully. "We'll go to the judge ourselves. Maybe my parents or Chloe's dad can take responsibility for you, if the judge someone has to. Someone at the school can tell them you're responsible - your grades are good and you haven't had anyone telling you what to do all this time. Just don't give up, Stasi. I know we can beat this."

When Clark finished, he looked down at her to see her looking up at him with an unusual look on her face. He frowned. "Stasi?"

She shook her head with a smile. "Now, I completely understand what Chloe told me that first day on the bleachers. It had nothing to do with your looks. It's you."

Clearly confused, Clark frowned, but before he could ask, Martha called from the house that breakfast was ready.

Stasi put her hand on Clark's forearm and looked up at him. "Thank you, Clark, for everything."

Clark nodded. "Just don't give up, Stasi," he repeated.

She smiled. "How could I? With reinforcements like you? Never!" She threaded her hand between his arm and torso, to lightly rest it on the crook of his arm as they walked back to the house.

~Smallville~

Stasi and Clark arrived in the Smallville High School parking lot in Stasi's truck. Clark insisted on walking her to class and asked her to wait for him between classes.

She smiled up at him. "Clark, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think I'm safe here at school. I'll see you at lunch - the _Torch_?"

"He's made his way inside the school before-"

"I seriously doubt he's going to attempt to take me by force in the crowded halls of Smallville High."

He pressed his lips together. "I just want you to know…"

She placed her hand on the arm he was using to hold his backpack in place. "You're here for me and I'm safe. I know. And I appreciate it. But it won't be a convincing argument as to my levels of responsibility if I'm consistently late and I contribute to you being consistently late."

Clark nodded. "I'll see you at lunch."

She nodded and walked into her class.

~Smallville~

Clark arrived early to the _Torch_ office to be there when Stasi arrived. Shortly after, Chloe arrived with a look of concern on her face.

"Hey, Clark," she said. "Have you seen Stasi today?"

He frowned. "Yeah, we came to school together. I found her father threatening her yesterday and my folks let her stay at my place overnight. Why?"

"She wasn't in English," Chloe's concern was evident in her large green eyes. "You don't think he could have gotten to her here?"

Clark moved toward the door. "I'm going to check the parking lot. She mentioned running this morning."

Chloe nodded. "I'll check the main office and see if Reynolds signed her out. With that court order, who knows what the school will do."

When Clark arrived in the parking lot, he found Stasi's truck in the spot she'd parked it in when they arrived at school that morning. Dread clenched the pit of his stomach and his heart as he realized that he'd failed to keep her safe, despite his promise. He put his hands to his hips and scanned the entire parking lot, trying to think of what to do next.

Chloe emerged from the front of the school. "Reynolds has her," she said, confirming his worst fears. "They let him sign her out because of the custody order. What do we do?"

He suddenly had a thought, but he had to distract Chloe in order to do what he needed to do. "Listen, Chloe, go to my house, tell my dad what has happened and ask him to check Stasi's farm. I'm going to check out the motel Reynolds told me about."

Chloe nodded. "Be careful, Clark."

"I will. If he's there, I'll call."

Chloe ran for her car. When she arrived, she turned back to look at Clark one more time, but he was gone. As alarming as his sudden disappearances were, they were unusual, so she shrugged and got behind the wheel.


	6. Rescue

Clark arrived at the Rooster Inn very shortly after sending Chloe to get his dad. He hoped that Reynolds would take Stasi here before leaving town.

The Inn was the kind that had all the room doors on the outside of the building, facing the parking lot. There were only two stories and three sets of stairs led up to the second floor, one at each end and one in the middle.

Hoping he was right, Clark climbed the stairs at the far end, then worked his way to the center, toward room 214. Once there, he used his x-ray vision to survey the room. He saw one skeletal form pacing and another sitting, arms pulled backward as if restrained. He drew closer and listened carefully.

"Think of it this way, Annie, you're finally going to make up for all the trouble you caused. When I heard that Summerholt was looking for specimens to explore psi abilities in humans I just _knew_ I could make a difference. Maybe they can even cure you and you can have a normal life. Or maybe they'll just take you apart to see what makes you tick. Either way, no other family would have to be destroyed by a freak of nature. But whatever they do, you'll finally be able to atone for killing your mother." Reynolds spoke into the phone then as he continued to pace. "Yes, I'm here. I have the specimen, ready to be delivered."

Clark busted the door open. When he saw a disheveled Stasi, tied to the chair and gagged with a bruise on her wet cheek, his jaw set and he turned on Reynolds. In one swift motion, he grabbed the older man's collar, lifting his off his feet with one hand while snatching the phone from Reynolds' grasp and throwing it through the window to the parking lot below. "You're not taking her anywhere."

With a flick of his wrist, Clark threw the other man into the bathroom with enough force to cause the door to close behind him. Then, in a flash, Clark had Stasi untied, gathered into his arms and out the door. Once, Clark felt they were a safe distance away, he stopped and looked down at her, still cradling her in his arms.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Oh, Clark," she whispered with a sob. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest.

He held her as near hysterical sobs wracked her small frame. He'd never thought of her as fragile before - Stasi's personality just seemed so strong - but holding her in this moment, she felt so small and… well, fragile. He began walking, cutting through a wooded area toward his home, but stopped when he came to a downed tree. He sat, then and just held her, lightly rubbing her back, until her tears subsided.

When she pulled away with a sniffle. "It seems I _can_ be a hysterical female," she looked at his neck.

"I'd worry if you weren't scared by that. I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner." 

She frowned, still looking down, using one of her fingers to trace the button at his collar. "It's not your fault." She sniffled again. "He had me called down to the office during second period. If I had let you walk me to every class, you still wouldn't have been able to prevent it. We were gone before the start of third."

Clark nodded. "Still," he looked off into the distance.

"Still, nothing." She sniffed. "You saved me, Clark. That's what matters."

Clark looked down at her. He tilted his head to catch her eyes, but she wouldn't look at him. He frowned. "Stasi? Look at me?"

Stasi shook her head. "No."

He frowned. "Why?"

She just shook her head, again.

"Come on, Stasi," Clark pleaded. "If you can't look at me, I...I can't help thinking that I let you down…"

Stasi shook her head, again. "It's not that. Please, Clark, believe me...it's just me. I... don't like... crying... in front of people."

Clark frowned. "But I'm not 'people', Stasi. I'm your friend." He pulled his hand from under her legs and pushed her hair back from her face. "You can trust me."

She touched his hand next to her face, sniffled, and looked up at him, eyes still wet and red-rimmed, and tear stains on her cheeks. "I do," she whispered. "Thank you for that."

Using the knuckle of his index finger to wipe the tears from her cheeks, Clark nodded and smiled a closed-mouthed smile. "Are you ready to go? I'm taking you home to my place."

She nodded, with a sniff. "I can walk," she offered.

He grinned down at her. "But can you go Warp speed?" He stood, easily cradling her in his arms. "Hold on," he warned and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head on his shoulder.

They were back at the Kent farm moments later. Clark deposited her on the couch in time for his father's truck to arrive with Chloe in tow.

When Chloe and Jonathan entered the house, Chloe rushed to Stasi's side, where Martha was checking Stasi's face and wrists.

Clark met Jonathan in the kitchen and spoke in low tones. "Reynolds was on the phone when I got there. He was talking about Summerholt and calling her a 'specimen'. He told her it was her penance for 'all the trouble she'd caused'!"

"She's safe now, son. Where is Reynolds?"

Clark frowned. "I threw him into the bathroom, grabbed her and left."

Jonathan's eyebrows rose. "Was he okay?"

Clark frowned and looked away. "I didn't stop to check." At his father's look, he straightened. "I was more worried about helping Stasi than worrying about whether or not he was hurt. I didn't really care at that moment."

Martha appeared, then. "Call Sheriff Adams, Jonathan. I don't care if this man is her father, he had no right to hurt her and, if we can file a police report for assault, a judge would have to rescind the custody order." She looked back at the young women in the living room and said. "Chloe's taking pictures now."

Clark and Jonathan exchanged looks, then looked at Martha.

Jonathan spoke first. "Martha, Sheriff Adams will ask too many questions-"

"Jonathan, it's the right thing to do. If we're serious about protecting Stasi, we have to have the legal back up!"

"All we have to tell her is that he took her out of school and, as I soon as I found out, I went to his hotel and broke her out. We don't have to go into specifics."

"She'll want specifics," Jonathan insisted.

"Just take me back to my place," Stasi was suddenly there. "I'll call the sheriff to my place and tell her that I escaped on my own. I don't want to get any of you involved any further." She looked at Chloe. "It's too dangerous. Who knows if those people on the phone might be on their way here?"

Martha looked up at Jonathan, reproachfully. Jonathan pressed his lips together and nodded at her. He stepped between his wife and son to where Stasi stood with Chloe. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. "We're not going to let you face this alone. You're staying here. Clark, call Sheriff Adams."

~Smallville~

When Sheriff Adams arrived, she looked at Clark. "I was just coming to see you when you called, Mr. Kent."

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

"Tom Reynolds came to see me. He wanted to file assault and kidnapping charges against Clark."

"What?!"

"But then your call came in, saying that the kidnapping victim was here and that she wanted to file the same kind of charges." The sheriff narrowed her eyes at those in the room. "So let's hear your side of it, young lady."

"Tom Reynolds is my biological father," Stasi's voice was quivering. "Before last week, I hadn't seen him since I was three. He wants to take me to Metropolis, but I don't want to go. He signed me out of school against my will and, when I fought him," She touched the bruise on her cheek. "He hit me." Her eyes welled with tears. "Then he tied me to a chair in his motel." She brushed away a tear that escaped from her eyes. "If not for Clark…"

Clark reached for her hand and squeezed it lightly, as Chloe grasped her other hand.

"Mr. Kent?"

Clark nodded. "Mr. Reynolds had told me where he was staying and, as soon as I found out she wasn't in school, I went there. I could hear him yelling at her and," he glanced at her. "And I could hear her crying. I busted open the door, caught him off-guard, knocked him into the bathroom, slammed the door. Then I grabbed Stasi and we ran."

Sheriff Adams scrutinized the young woman in front of her. Then she looked at Clark. "And you never thought of calling me?" she asked.

Clark shrugged. "I figured you'd tell me that it's a domestic issue and to say out of it. But I knew that Stasi didn't want to go with him."

"And I went to get Mr. Kent at the same time," Chloe offered.

"Hmm," Sheriff Adams said, thoughtfully, scrutinizing each person in the room in turn. "Alrighty, then." She said, finally. "Do you want to file charges?"

Stasi swallowed. "What I really want is for him to leave me alone. I'm eighteen and I've been on my own for months. He shouldn't have the right to come back into my life after fifteen years of radio silence, steal my property and force me to go where he wants me to go." Her jaw set and her eyes became harder. "Especially since he doesn't really want me. He's done nothing but insult me since coming back into my life."

"He blames Stasi for her mother's death," Clark added.

Stasi looked over at Clark, whose eyebrows knit together apologetically. She swallowed and nodded. She cleared her throat and licked her lips. "That's what he said. Even though she died long after they gave me up to foster care."

Clark squeezed her hand again.

The sheriff nodded. "I've heard enough. If you want to come with me to swear out a complaint. I'll get a judge to issue a restraining order on him so that he can't bother you while I investigate this further."

Stasi nodded and began to stand.

"If you don't mind, Stasi," Jonathan stood. "I'd like to go with you."

Stasi looked at Clark, who smiled and nodded. She smiled at Jonathan and nodded. "Thank you," she said.

Jonathan and Stasi went with Sheriff Adams, Chloe headed home while Clark and Martha stayed at the house.


	7. Resolution

Hours later, Stasi and Jonathan returned. Martha hugged Stasi and said. "Clark is in the barn...unless you're too tired. I've made Clark's bed up for you."

Stasi tilted her head with a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent. I owe you all so much. I don't want to put you out, any more than I already have."

Martha smiled. "You aren't putting us out. Go tell Clark I've made a pie. We'll have some before bed."

Stasi glanced up at Jonathan, who grinned down at her. She nodded and walked out to the barn.

Clark turned when he heard footsteps climbing the loft steps. He smiled when he saw Stasi. "Hey. How'd it go?"

Stasi nodded, rubbing her hands on her jeans. "Other than being nerve wracking and invasive - disinterested deputy taking pictures of all my bruises - not too bad."

Clark frowned and took her elbow, leading her to the couch. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Stasi looked at Clark as she sat down. "Thank you, again, Clark, for coming to my rescue."

Clark looked down at his hands. "You don't have to thank me, Stasi."

She reached over and put her hand over his. "You're wrong. I could never thank you enough." She looked up at him. "And for the moment in the woods."

He smiled at her. "You'd do the same for me."

She chuckled. "Well, I doubt I could carry you across this loft, let alone all the way from the motel to your house."

He grinned. "You're stronger than you think."

She looked at him and he met her eyes. After a moment, she cleared her throat and looked away. "Well, I know I'm hungry. And your mom said there's pie. I've heard rumors that her baked goods are the best in the state…"

Clark grinned. "It's true." They stood and moved out of the barn.

~Smallville~

Tom Reynolds paced in Lex Luthor's home office. When Lex walked in, he frowned. "Mr. Reynolds? I thought I made it clear that your business is with Summerholt Institute. Why are you here?"

"You have to help me." Reynolds said. "There's a warrant...my specimen turned on me. Had a change of heart and is claiming I kidnapped her."

Lex shook his head. "I can only help with advice: leave town. Leave Kansas. Heck, leave the country. I'm not in the habit of funding research that comes from dubious sources."

"I was getting the specimen for research for _your_ company!" Reynolds protested.

Lex frowned. "I'm afraid I haven't any idea what research you could be referring to. As I said, _LuthorCorps_ is not in the habit of getting involved in research of questionable origins."

Tom Reynolds stared, dumbfounded, at Lex Luthor. "You're just going to hang me out to dry?"

Lex smiled. "How about I give you airline tickets to where ever you want to go?"

"But I-"

Lex shrugged. "It's your choice. You can stay and face the music or go."

~Smallville~

Clark and Stasi sat at the table in the Kent kitchen, working on an English assignment together, when someone knocked at the screen door.

"Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Lex?" Clark moved quickly to allow the man clad in black into the house. "Stasi, this is my friend, Lex."

Lex offered his hand. "Ms. Reynolds, Clark asked me to have my lawyers look into your case."

Stasi took his hand but looked at Clark, who smiled. Then she looked up at Lex. "I appreciate your help, but the judge has rescinded the custody order and issued a restraining order against Tom Reynolds - who seems to have disappeared, according to the sheriff."

Lex smiled. "I'm glad to hear your immediate problem has solved, but I thought you might like a more permanent solution." He pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. "They're emancipation papers."

She frowned down at the envelope, then up at him. "But, how? It takes months…"

Lex smiled over her head to Clark, whose smile was bright. "Let's just say that there are ways to cut through bureaucratic red-tape."

Stasi looked up at him, agape. Then she looked over to Clark, then back to Lex. A smile spread across her face. "I really hope you're not opposed to hugs, Sir Lex, because there's one coming your way." Before he could respond, she moved in and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his jacket.

Lex, arms raised in surprise, looked at Clark who shrugged in time for Stasi to release Lex.

"I don't know how to thank you!"

Lex smiled down at her. "I think you just did." He looked back at Clark. "I'll let you kids get back to your studies."

Clark walked Lex out to the porch. "Thanks, Lex."

Lex smiled. "Anything for a friend, Clark. You know that that."

~Smallville~

Clark and Stasi emerged from her truck in front of her farmhouse. With the disappearance of Tom Reynolds, the supposed buyers vanished as well. She unlocked the front door and they set to opening all the windows and doors in the house.

Once the house was airing out, Stasi turned to Clark. "Thanks, Clark."

Clark grinned. "I noticed you don't call me 'Cowboy' anymore."

Stasi looked up at him. After a moment, she smiled. "Don't worry, Clark, you'll always be Eye Candy to me."

He rolled his eyes. "Cowboy is better."

She chuckled, relaxing. "You can't have everything, Cowboy."

He grinned back at her. "So, put me to work?"

She looked around the house and grinned. "There's still plenty to do. Roll the dice."

Clark grinned. "How about scrub down the walls and floor today, and paint tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled and nodded, but before he could turn on the speed, she took his hand.

He frowned and looked down at her, holding his hand.

Her look was thoughtful as she stepped closer and spoke. "Before you go all Warp Speed on me, Cowboy. There's one thing I need to do." Taking his hand, she led him over to the staircase. She went up two steps, then turned around to face him. Then she put her arms on his shoulders. "I've been wanting to do this since seeing this chiseled jaw on that football field and even more since...you saved me from...the motel."

His eyebrows knitted together, clearly confused.

She moved closer to him, licking her bottom lip as she tilted her head, gazing at his mouth. She paused half a breath away from him and looked into his eyes. "Feel free to stop me at any time," she whispered.

Instead, he placed his hands on her waist and nudged her closer.

She smiled and touched her lips to his, hesitant at first. Then, when he responded, she melted into him.

When they finally parted, she took a deep breath and bit her lip. She smiled. "So glad I got that out of my system," she breathed.

His blue eyes searched her face and he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Me, too."

She pulled away and touched his face. "Thanks for being my hero."

He shook his head. "Not what I was going for."

She tossed her head. "But it'll have to do, Cowboy. I'm not ready to settle down." She smiled and touched her finger to his nose. "Now, let's get to work!" She moved to the kitchen to get the bucket and sponges.

He watched her move away with a smile on his face. Then, he sped off to work on cleaning the walls of her downstairs to prep them for painting.

* * *

 _Post script: Thank you ever so much for reading. This story was started four years ago, during my second binge watch of the "Smallville" series. It was abandoned when the plot bunny ran away and sat (mostly) dormant in my cloud until a recent binge watch. I had a harder time getting to a point where I felt comfortable posting this than I have had in a very long time. Please let me know what you think._


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